Outboard motor lock



April 14, 1970 G. E. PAvEK 3,505,839

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I N VEN TOR. l B Yfoqf P4 vL-'K United States Patent O 3,505,839 OUTBOARD MOTOR LOCK George E. Pavek, 908 Summit Ave., St. Paul Park, Minn. 55110 Filed Apr. 23, 1968, Ser. No. 723,524 Int. Cl. F16b 41/00 U.S. Cl. 70-230 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Locking devices for outboard motors which are designed to protect the motor from theft or accidental dislodgement through vibration during operation comprise a body member for snugly receiving the head portions of the motor clamps and a closure member enclosing said head portions within the locking device and means for locking said body and closure members together.

f4 The present invention relates to locking devices for outboard motors and Amore particularly relates to locking devices designed to prevent the loss of outboard motors either through theft or displacement of the motor from the transom by vibration during operation.

Most outboard motors, regardless of size, are mounted onto the transom of a boat by a C-shaped or U-shaped mounting bracket through which is threaded a pair of clamping members which engage the transom of the boat. Although the outboard motor can be initially securely attached to the transom in this manner, the possibility of the clamping members being loosened by the vibration of the motor during use isreal and cannot be discounted. For this reason, most outboard motor owners use a length of cable or chain fastened to the motor and to the boat to insure against the loss of the motor overboard. While this safety chain may be reassuring to the owner, a hot operating motor which is suddenly submerged in water is likely to be severely damaged by the sudden thermal shock to which it is thus subjected. It is also highly unlikely that the safety chain will prevent the loss overboard of a large outboard motor Weighing several hundred pounds. In fact, if such a large tethered motor were to fall overboard, the boat itself would be in danger of sinking. It is, of course, quite obvious that the aforedescribed mounting bracket and safety chain will not prevent the theft of an outboard motor from an unattended boat.

Prior workers have attempted to provide locking devices for outboard motors but all of these known devices have suffered from the disadvantage of requiring apertures to be aligned for insertion of the shackle of padlock or required the locking device to be permanently attached to the boat. In the cases where apertures must be aligned to attach a padlock to the device, the alignment procedure itself can be an exasperating experience and the device could be quite loosely attached over the clamping members due to the necessity for aligning the apertures. Thosev devices which must be permanently aixed to the boat, of course, do not provide the flexibility of being easily moved. Certain of the known devices also were provided with hinges which are susceptible to rust especially when exposed to sea water.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a locking device for an outboard motor which simply and effectively prevents theft of the motor.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a locking device which prevents loss overboard of the motor during operation of the motor.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying diagrammatic drawings,

3,505,839 Patented Apr. 14, 1970 in which like numerals refer to the corresponding parts in the several views and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view showing an outboard motor mounted on the transom of a boat with th locking device of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational View, partly in section, illustrating one embodiment of the locking device;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, illustrating another embodiment of the locking device;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5 5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing another embodiment of the locking device;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view, partly in section, of the locking device of FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8 8 of FIGURE 7.

Referring now to the drawings, the stern portion of a boat is shown with a conventional outboard motor 10 mounted on the transom 11 by mounting bracket 12 with the locking device 15 of the present invention in place. The locking device 15 generally comprises a body member 16 and a closure member 17.

In the embodiments illustrated in FIGURES 2-5, the body member 16 is generally U-shaped and is provided with a pair of recesses 18 through which the shank portions 19 of the clamping members extend with the wingshaped or torque applying head portions 20 thereof snugly received within the interior of the body member 15. The closure member 17 of the embodiments shown in FIG- URES 2-5 is a generally flat plate member and may be provided with upturned ends 21, as illustrated in FIG- URE 2. The upturned ends 21 will serve to completely enclose the locking device 15.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 2 and 3, body member 16 is provided with a conventional keyed cylinder lock 22. A bayonet stud 23 forms the locking pin of lock 22 and fits within a keyhole recess 24 provided in locking plate 25 affixed to closure member 17. Locking of the body member 16 and the closure member 17 is accomplished by aligning and inserting the bayonet stud 23 into the recess 24 and rotating the locking cylinder until the bayonet stud is positioned perpendicularly to the keyhole recess 24; reversing the procedure unlocks the two members.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 4 and 5, body member 16 is provided with a generally rectangular recess 26 through which locking tang 27 is passed, Locking tang 27 is a generally right angularly bent plate and is attached to closure member 17, as by welding the bottom portion 28 thereof to the closure member (see FIGURE 4). The top portion of locking tang 27 is provided with an aperture 29 through which the shackle of a conventional padlock 30 is passed.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 6-8, the body member 16 and the closure member 17 are both generally semi-cylindrical members which, when tted together, form an elongate cylinder as clearly shown in FIGURE 8. Body member 16 is provided at one end with an encircling ring 31 and at the other end with an end plate 32. The end plate 32 is suitably afxed to the body member 16, as by welding, and is provided with a locking tang 33. An aperture 34 is centrally formed in locking tang 33 to receive the shackle of a conventional padlock. One end of closure member 17 is formed with a recessed ange 35 which frictionally lits with encircling ring 31 of the body member 16. In the specific embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 6-8, recessed flange 35 is a separate semi-cylindrical member affixed as by welding to the interior surface of closure member 17, although it is obvious that the flange can be formed as an integral part of closure member 17. The other end of closure member 17 is provided -With an end plate 36 fastened as by Welding to the closure member 17. The free end 37 of end plate 36 is bent over on itself to form a U-shaped channel to frictionally receive locking tang 33 of body member 16. Each leg of the U is provided with a central aperture which is aligned with aperture 34 when body member 16 and closure member 17 are slidably interlocked. The shackle of a conventional padlock (not shown) is then passed through the aligned apertures to lock both members together. It will be obvious that the locking device of FIGURES 6-8 can only be utilized with outboard motors provided with clamping members having pivotable torque applying head portions 20` in view of the configuration of recesses 18.

In constructing the locking devices of the present invention, 11 gage cold rolled steel is used for body member 16. In a typical locking device, of the type illustrated in FIGURES 2-5 the interior width between the upstanding legs of the U is one inch, the radius of curvature being 0.31 inch. The length of each of the legs of the U, measured at the interior of the body member 16, is 1.12 inch. Recesses 18 are one inch wide and 1.12 inch high, have a radius of curvature of 0.31 inch, and are spaced with their centerlines 5.75 inches apart along the 9.5 inches length of body member 16. Recesses 18 may be formed as T-shaped recesses to accommodate variations in spacing of the clamping members. Rectangular recess 2-6 measuring 0.25 inch by 0.75 inch is centrally located between the legs of the U with its longitudinal axis 4.75 inches from either end of the body member. Closure member 17 is formed from 3/15 inch cold rolled steel stock 9.5 inches long by one inch wide. Locking tang 27, 0.64 inch wide by 2.25 inches long is bent at a 90 angle inch from one end and is thereafter welded to closure member 17 with the outer upstanding edge 4.66 inches from one end of closure member 17 so that locking tang 27 will be centrally received within recess 26 of body member 16. Aperture 29, 0.31 inch in diameter, is drilled along the centerline of locking tang 27 0.35 inch from its free end.

The locking device illustrated in FIGURES 6#8 is constructed of one and one-half inch diameter 11 gage stainless steel stock. Recesses 18 are 1 inch square and are spaced 5.75 inches apart at their centerlines. Other const ructional features of the locking device shown in FIG- ures 6-8 will be obvious from the drawings and the foregoing description.

The dimensions given herein are typical and have been found to provide locking devices which fit -many brands of outboard motors. However, since the outboard motor industry has not adopted uniform standards for mounting brackets, size and spacing of clamping members, etc., dimensional changes to accommodate such variations will be required and are contemplated.

The use of the locking devices of the present invention is extremely simple. An outboard motor 10 is mounted and clamped onto the transom of a boat in the conventional manner. Body member 16 is then placed over the clamping members of the outboard motor with the shank portions 19 centered in recesses 18 with the head portions 20 resting within body member 16. Closure member 17 is then placed between the legs of the U enclosing head portions 20 therewithin and locked by rotating cylinder lock 22 or passing the shackle of a padlock 30 through aperture 29 and locking the padlock.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 6-8, after the motor 10 is clamped into place, the pivotable torque applying members 20 are aligned with the shank 19 and passed through recesses 18. The torque applying members 20 are then pivoted 90 to the position shown in FIGURE 6. Closure member 17 is then slid into place as shown in FIGURE 7 and a padlock 30 afxed thereto.

It will lbe seen that the locking devices of the present invention provide extremely simply constructed and applied devices -which effectively prevent theft of an outboard motor and also guard against accidental loss of an outboard motor such as can be experienced by the loosening of the clamping members by vibration during operation of the motor.

I claim:

1. A locking device for outboard motors comprising a U-shaped body member having longitudinal channel there'- in for snugly receiving the head portions of the clamping members of said motors, said body member having a pair of spaced recesses for receiving the shank portions of said clamping members and a rectangular central recess between the legs of the U, a closure member comprising a flat plate having a locking tang centrally positioned thereon fitting within said longitudinal channel and over the head portions of said clamping members, said locking tang being adapted to extend through the rectangular recess of said tbody member when the body member and closure member are juxtaposed, and means for locking said body member and closure member together.

2. A locking device according to claim 1, wherein the closure member is a at plate having upturned ends iitting Within and closing the ends of said longitudinal channel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,279,006 4/ 1942 McWaters 70-232 2,500,375 3/1950 Parker 70--232 2,603,080 7/1952 Earnhart 70-232 2,749,730 6/ 1956 Frost 70-232 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner R. L. WOLFE, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. -232 

